Chapter 43 – The World
I yelled, screamed, and threw myself all over the place.
Running around I repeatedly kicked stones, struck the ground, and hit my head against the trees.
Anger, sadness, and so on just getting tangled up, I just kept crying.
But I can’t do that forever.
“Ha~… ha~ah…… Damn it…… a~, damn…”
I cried so much I couldn’t even feel hunger, all the same I was worn out.
It was already night.
I left the Imperial City and ran around like crazy, so I don’t even know which way the city is.
Is this the first time in my life I’m sleeping outdoors?
Besides, I left with just my clothes, so I don’t have any money, what’s going to happen to me?
But…… as it is……
“Haha… shit…… damn it…”
I never knew. There are so many stars.
As I lay upon the meadow with my arms stretched out, I could see the myriad of stars shining in the night sky.
I knew for the first time that I had always slept regularly indoors at night.
『…… At last…… have you calmed down a little?』
There was Tre’ainar, right beside me.
It seems that Tre’ainar left me alone until I stopped crying.
“Well… I’m beat, but…”
The tears stopped. However, the fatigue came out suddenly.
And, when I feel tired and feel depressed, something is likely to come up again.
Yes, I’m today… father and… my mother… and now with everyone…
『If you are calm, return to the Imperial City and talk to your parents. Are you anxious?』
Maybe so.
When I get back now, at least my father… my father and mother would have a lot to say to me, but I felt like they would welcome me.
But, with what I’ll face should I go back, enough, I don’t want to go home, I felt I couldn’t go home.
“I can’t… already…”
『Yes, tis… I do not believe….』
“No… I can’t… everyone hates me…. my father and my mother… Sadiz, too…. even though I didn’t know… I hurt her…”
『You are his only son. There is no reason not to love you. However, they may be renowned as hero and heroine, but they were just lacking as parents…. do not give up on them…. as an adult, you forgive… that is also an option…. That maid and… 』
“But… I can’t.”
Tre’ainar may be right, but my heart still couldn’t choose it.
In the first place, I threw away everything close to me and ran.
“Me, Sadiz…. and…… surprisingly…… more than I thought, my father and mother… maybe I liked it.”
『……… Tis so… 』
“So… feared by Sadiz…… my father and mother looking at me like that… then I said all that…. I already… I can’t.”
I can’t face those eyes anymore.
I’m scared of it.
That’s why I ran away.
『…… Do you hate me?』
“What? …… Why?”
At that moment, I was suddenly awakened by Tre’ainar’s unexpected words.
『At the very least, had I not deemed to demonstrate that technique to you… none of this would have come to pass, would it not?』
I couldn’t say anything to Tre’ainar, who looked me in the eye and told me straight.
No way, to think he felt guilty here….
“What are you talking about? I’m the one who finally learned from you…. I mean… If you think calmly, I used the technique of the Great Demon King, I should have known that my father, mother, and everyone would make a big fuss. Yet I…… I was so excited about getting stronger day by day that I didn’t even consider it.”
Certainly, none of this would have happened is I wasn’t trained by Tre’ainar.
But then, with how I spent these two months, if asked ‘Would it be better if I didn’t?’, I would absolutely disagree.
『…… I see…』
However many people he had killed as the Great Demon King, I don’t know him at that time.
In the first place, I don’t know about the era.
So maybe I didn’t understand it comes with a payoff.
Father, mother, Sadiz, and the world’s feelings for the Great Demon King.
The Tre’ainar I know is a pretty sore loser, with a terrible naming sense, decent mood, and a good sense of humanity.
『Well,… what will you do now? Leave your home….』
“Now… I’m not thinking about anything… just…… I just ran…”
Yes, I’m not thinking about anything.
I just ran away.
But I don’t want to go back.
No, I can’t go back anymore.
I threw it all away, so…
Also……
“There’s no point in going back anymore… I wonder what it was…. my life so far… no one looked at me.”
Saying that, as I lay down in the meadow again, I looked up at the sky.
Looking at the enormous breathtaking night sky, I was sick of everything.
『Hey, child…』
“What?”
『A little…… listen to me.』
Then, Tre’ainar sat next to me, his eyes looking far away.
『Things may seem inconceivable, but so long as you still live, there are many different routes to take…. you are young.』
“Ah.”
『But unfortunately, whatever your path, it may be impossible to earn a reputation other than ‘son of a hero’, by normal means.』
“Eh!!??”
Talk about throwing salt to a wound.
Although it was already obvious, it was a severe remark.
『It may be abominable to you, but the name of ‘Hiro, the Great Hero Who Defeated the Great Demon King’ is bigger than I could have imagined…. as such, no matter how grand your performance in that match, the only evaluation from the masses would be ‘as expected, he is the son of a hero’.』
I know. I heard those words many times during the match.
That’s how it’s been the last fifteen years.
“Then, it was impossible from the beginning… why do you look at me, not as I am, but as a hero’s son.”
It was impossible after all. The reality hit pretty hard.
And now, ‘Using the technique of the Great Demon King’ or ‘Warrior disqualification’, I’ve fallen further.
Well, even if I didn’t put in any effort from the beginning……
『But there is only one… a way to make them recognize you as Earth Lagann, not as the son of a hero.』
“…… What?”
It was impossible to do anything from the beginning…. the conclusion I expected, there was an unexpected phrase.
“H-Hey, you’re not going to tell me to become a Demon King and raise my infamy, are you?”
『Wrong. In general, the only thing that resonates with notoriety is the evaluation that ‘the son of the hero was the worst after all’. Still, if you are fine with it, you can beat the people speaking ill of you, that is a different story.』
“That’s just…”
『Rather, do not equate the Demon King with infamy! Tis the same narrow-minded outlook of the masses, attaching labels like dark and evil to demons while opting light and justice for themselves…. Well, not that it matters much to me…』
“Ah… I see… I’m sorry,.. I didn’t mean…”
『Oh, tis fine. Anyway, what I want to say is… Oh~, what to do…』
I get up again and face Tre’ainar.
Is there only one way to do something that should not be possible?
What is it?
The story seemed to deviate a bit, but I corrected it and Tre’ainar spoke to me in a calm tone.
『For example, child. I once… unified hundreds of countries and tribes…. managed them…… led them to fight against the human race. Not only the war, but also troublesome politics and coordination, such hectic days… but everything functioned.』
It’s an old story of Tre’ainar’s that I’ve never heard of before.
『Yes, I was a supreme being, and I was beyond descriptors such as a genius. From childhood, magic, wisdom, and combat ability were all called ‘the strongest in history’…… Well, I lost to your father. With a cowardly hand. An obscene hand. I mentioned it twice because tis important.』
“Hey…”
『And here I shall ask you one question…』
At first, I thought he was proud, but he suddenly looked serious.
And say to me.
That is……
『Who was the strongest in history before I was called the strongest… Do you understand?』
“…… Huh? …… Come on, well… I don’t know.”
『My point. Naturally. Most likely, even amongst the demons tis not known. The one who was the strongest before me.』
What’s the story leading to? I don’t know anything, so I just shut up and listen…
『In other words, no matter how many people have made a name before, if more appear, people’s consciousness will be renewed even if they do not mean it to. Tis how things go.』
“Renew…?”
『Yes, a renewal!” Child!』
With that said, Tre’ainar stood up with powerful words.
『If you want to break away from being the son of a hero and still be recognized as your own existence… You take your father ‘s feat , the defeat of the Great Demon King… and achieve one a far greater.』
“Eh.”
『Do that, and not only the Empire, but the world will recognize Earth Lagann!』
It was, as I was to say, a story of an indescribably large scale.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“A feat beyond my father… Ha ha…… What’s that? What could it be?”
『Do you know of such a thing? I know nothing of the world as it is today, and I do not know if such a feat exists in the world after the war ended. But unless you do that… Earth Lagann will remain the son of the hero who ran away from home.』
And from there, I don’t know Tre’ainar.
Then what is there?
What is the feat that exceeds my father who defeated the Great Demon King and saved the human race?
『Still, I do not know what it may be. But the answer is not in the Empire. This leaves no choice but to go through the lands where your father’s influence does not reach, to push forward to find something, to overcome numerous trials with your fists, to see many things, to learn many things, and to do ‘something’ at the end. Something to surpass your father!』
A feat that exceeds the legend that defeated the Great Demon King, that not even the Great Demon King Tre’ainar knows of.
I don’t know what it is, but if I do it…
『Aim for the World, Earth!』
That’s how Tre’ainar showed me the guiding principle on which to proceed, even though he didn’t know the answer.
“Surpass… father…”
『If you cannot do that and still want to dispose of your detractors… Well, I have neither reason nor duty to stop you, but…』
“But… It’ll be me.”
『Well, decide what you like. You are still alive, unlike me. So long as you do not return home, you must decide on your own future.』
Don’t aim for my father. Surpass my father.
That’s the only way to get acknowledged.
“Surpass him… I’ve never thought about that.”
When I was a kid, I said, ‘I’m going to be a hero like my father’, but I also said, ‘I’m going to be more than my father’. No……
“No…There was, that time.”
『Hmm? 』
No, when I was a kid, I said it without thinking.
– Fu is the best wizard in the world! Rebal is the best swordsman in the world! Phianse is the best spearmaster in the world! And I’m going to be the strongest ultra hero in the world, better than my father!
So, a childish dream, and in a sense the origin.
I already knew the answer.
“Haha…… no way…. this…… to think I would ever remember this…”
I laughed at the mere recollection.
At that time, it was a pure child’s dream that said out loud without thinking deeply about it.
However, I gradually lost my confidence and stopped speaking.
To think I would remember it in this way and be able to do it.
“Okay… bring it on.”
Suddenly I noticed it, something was boiling up from deep within me.
A feeling that fired me up.
“I’m not an ultra hero, but…but still… let’s become ‘something’ that surpasses my father!!”
Easy to simply say I’ll surpass him, but there are many aspects.
Strength, fame, achievements.
But, we don’t yet know what to surpass.
So then, cross the world in search of that ‘something’.
Aim for the world.
“Oh, oooh…uooooooooooooooooh!! What Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttt!!! Look out world!! You son of a Bitch!! uooooooooooooooooh!!”
To the world, in the sky, to the stars, I screamed.
I’m not dead yet.
Earth Lagann is still here.
As I yelled, my eyes began to tear up a little. Enough already, I rather howl out my feelings with all my might.
『Huh, seems you have reverted a little bit of yourself. Such a simple fellow. But tis fine. The defeated is beaten down, and stays prone forever, never to rise back up. So…… you have not lost yet. Well, a tad of a crybaby, but… for today I witnessed no such thing.』
“Slander. But…… Thank you, Tre’ainar. You’re alright…”
『Nnh, d-do not be mistaken. I desire to see the rest of the world, tis simply more convenient. Tis not for your sake! 』
“Hahahahaha, what’s that~?”
Oh, I’m simple.
This was the worst day in my life, yet I’m about to rise back up.
That’s all there is to it…
『Well, anyway… shall we proceed?』
“Oh, let’s go.”
No matter what the Great Demon King is to my father, no matter what happened in the past, it won’t change anything.
I cross the world with this guy.
『”To the End of the World!!”』
A new life of the invisible “us” has begun.
END OF PART 1
Author’s Notes
Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your company so far.
I was finally able to write this far.
At first, I didn’t think you’d get any comments or drills.
Many people were able to react to my stories, including pros and cons.
I am very grateful as a writer.
However, I did not think that the discussion would spread so much on one theme of ‘parent-child issue’, but I was made to think that ‘I see, there is such an idea’ in each opinion.
Also, from the last despair to the time you stand up, is it too early? This time you might think.
To be honest, I could have written a period of despair for a while, but I read ‘Dare Royal’s Letter’ and decided to do this. If you have never read it, please read it.
And let me apologize. I couldn’t reply to everyone this time because of the amount of impressions I had.
I’ll do my best to stay up all night on Friday, Saturday and Sunday weekend, so please update it first this time.
I’m sorry.
And, it was a short time until today, but thank you for reading. Thank you for the next story.
It’s not the last episode. It’s going to last a little longer.
Translator’s Note
And with that, Part 1 of this story comes to an end. The world (probably the only Jojo reference we’re getting) awaits our pair. How will they meet it? I’m excited to find out. I’ll have a post coming up with a couple of announcements. But the short version? I’m taking a short break from the novel (it’s short I promise) and I will be taking on another series. For full details, watch out for the post. Thanks.